GMI Lures SPSS Staff to Management Team

Online MR firm Global Market Insite (GMI) has appointed four former employees of SPSS Europe to expand its European management team. The company has also appointed a Director for Russia, and several new project management staff, and recently announced the opening of a new Los Angeles office.

GMI opened its Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) headquarters in London this June, and appointed Dietmar Walter as MD of Sales for Europe. The four new appointments are designed to accelerate growth across Europe.

Leon de Koning, joins as MD of Northern Europe, based in the Netherlands. He was previously Territory Sales Manager for Northern Europe at SPSS.

Uwe Lorenz, the company's new MD of Central and Eastern Europe, was SPSS's MR Sales Manager for Central and Eastern Europe, and its Strategic Accounts Director. He will be based in Germany.

Mitra Asilzadeh joins as Client Services Director of Europe, based in the UK. Asilzadeh was formerly a Strategic Account Manager, responsible for managing global customer relationships. Also based in the UK, Mario Menti has been appointed as AD/Solutions Architect. Menti previously worked as a Solutions Architect with SPSS.

Rob Monster, GMI founder and CEO, says the new team members 'give us the skills and expertise that we need to respond to demand for our integrated market research solutions across Europe'. He adds: 'Their personal drive, experience in market research software solutions, and their passion for applying technology to market intelligence are exemplary.'

Other recent additions at GMI include Ian Melanson, VP of Product Management, based in Seattle. Melanson was previously President and co-founder of Jobsite Express Delivery, and has undertaken marketing and management consulting for companies including Subway and ICOM.

Alexander Shashkin also joins the company as its Director for Russia. He was previously a Senior Researcher at the Institute of Sociology, Russian Academy of Sciences, in Moscow. Before that, he was Acting Director of the Centre for Analytical Studies and Development in Kazan, and Associate Research Fellow at the Centre for Social Evaluation Research at London Metropolitan University.

Also joining the company are:

• James Feng, IT Manager, China
• Froso Kakaletri, Business Development Manager, London
• Emma Nicholson, Project Manager, London
• David Velek, Project Manager, Boston
• Maria Longo, Project Manager, London
• Newton Sogabe, Project Manager, Sao Paulo.

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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